We are baby boomers privileged to enjoy our dream of early retirement while traveling full-time in our 2005 37' Allegro Bay. We have been on the road for over five years. We invite you to join us as we explore this amazing country. Our heartfelt thanks to our soldiers and their families for their sacrifices to ensure our freedom so that we can pursue our dream.

May 21, 2009

Petrified Forest

We left Albuquerque and drove east on I-40 to Holbrook, AZ, where we stayed at OK RV Park. All the sites at OK RV are extra-long pull-throughs. Unfortunately, the sites are very narrow; and, although the utility pedestals are not shared, you are back to back with your neighbor. The good thing is, because the sites are so long, the RVs are parked in a staggered fashion, and you are not directly opposite another RV on either side. The photo below shows our site at OK RV.

The entire campground is sand and gravel and is a little dusty, but that is to be expected when you're in the desert. There are full hook-ups and Wi-fi. We opted to pay the $5 a night extra charge for 50 amp because it was 90 degrees. We didn't want to have to turn off the air to run the microwave.

The reason we stopped in Holbrook was to visit Petrified Forest National Park, which is located along both sides of I-40 about 15 miles east of Holbrook. The national park is located at the southern end of the Painted Desert. The Painted Desert stretches from eastern end of the Grand Canyon in an arc down to the Petrified Forest - a distance of over 150 miles. The southern end of the Painted Desert is incorporated into the Petrified Forest National Park.

You can access Petrified Forest National Park from I-40 to at the northern end, or you can access the park from the south by taking U. S. 180 east from Holbrook. A 28-mile long road connects the north and south entrances of the park. We decided to start at the southern end because that's where the highest concentration of petrified wood is located.

The
park has visitor centers at both ends. The southern visitor center is located just inside the entrance near an area called Rainbow Forest. In the visitor center, we watched the video about the history of the park
and about how petrified wood is formed. Then we walked the Big Log Trail, which starts behind the visitor center.

Petrified Forest National Park contains one of the largest, most colorful collections of petrified wood in the world. Unfortunately, tons of petrified wood have been taken by souvenir hunters and even more has been destroyed by those seeking the crystals and semi-precious gems sometimes found within the petrified wood. They used to dynamite the logs just to see if there might be crystals inside.

The Petrified Forest was named a national monument in 1906, but it didn't become a national park until 1962. Making the Petrified Forest a national park provided more protection, but it is estimated about one ton of petrified wood is carried out of the park by visitors every month in spite of stiff penalties and in spite of the fact petrified wood that has been legally harvested from private property is readily available for sale all around the area.

Petrified wood is formed when trees are submerged in water then buried in layers of sediment rich in volcanic ash. The volcanic ash is high in silica, which is key to transforming the wood to stone. The silica and other minerals infused themselves into the wood and began to form crystals within the cell structure, much like the way fossils were formed. The silica displaced the cellulose that originally made up the wood. The colors in the petrified wood come mainly from various iron compounds. The photo below shows the rich colors in some of the petrified wood.

Here is another example.

Most of the petrified wood is from an extinct variety of conifer that grew up to 200 feet tall. The southern end of the park has some of the most colorful petrified wood. It also has some of the biggest logs.

The next photo shows a log called Old Faithful. At over 9 feet in diameter, it is the largest log in the park.

The detail of the wood grain and bark of some of the logs is amazing. You can also see knots where there used to be branches.

Also in the vicinity of the southern visitor center is a trail Agate House, which is an Indian pueblo. Along the trail, which is about two miles round trip, we came across a colorful collared lizard.

Agate House was built from chunks of petrified wood sealed in place with mud mortar. Archeologists believe Agate House was originally an eight-room pueblo built about 1000 years ago. The pueblo was partially reconstructed in the 1930s.

From Agate House, we drove north through the park. The landscape, which is part of the Chinle Formation, is comprised mostly of compressed, sandy gravel. We began to see more of the multi-colored terrain of the painted desert. Petrified wood continued to dot the landscape, but it isn't as prevalent as it is in the southern part of the park.

Notice the petrified log balanced on the top of the dune to the left in the photo below.

In spite of the inhospitable-looking terrain, there were a few wildflowers blooming.

As we proceeded north on the park road, the amount of petrified wood continued to be less and less obvious, and the colors of the Painted Desert became more dominant. We'll tell you more about the northern part of Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert in out next post.

May 20, 2009

Santa Fe, NM Part II: Walking Tour

One thing
we noticed on the tram tour was the fact that there were several food carts
around the square. They were selling hot dogs and brats, fajitas, and
all sorts of good-smelling foods. As soon we got off the tram, we walked right
over to the square to check out the goodies. The food cart that caught our
eye (and noses) was the one that won the award for the Best Food Cart
of 2008. They were selling carnitas. Carne means "meat" in Spanish, and carnita means "little meat."

We bought a carnita to share. In the photo below, Paul is enjoying his turn at taking a few bites of the carnita, which is beef, fried onions and peppers, and salsa - all wrapped in flat bread.

After
our snack, we walked around the square and some of the side streets. There weren't quite as many picturesque little alcoves off the main
sidewalks as there were in Albuquerque, but there were a few.

After
we walked some of the side streets and got around the square almost
back to where we had started, we noticed people eating something out of
Frito bags. On further investigation, we found out what they were
eating were called a Frito Pies, and they were sold at the lunch
counter in the Five and Dime Store. They cut open the edge of a snack-size bag of
Fritos, ladle in some chili, and sprinkle shredded cheese on top. You
eat it right out of the bag. Well, it sounded so good, we decided we
had to give it a try. Yum! What a great idea for a picnic, camping, Super
Bowl party, etc! Eating out of the Frito bag really saves on cleanup.

After
our second shared snack, we continued our walking tour. We wanted to
get a closer look at some of the places we passed on the tram tour. A
block from the square is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of
Assisi, which is also known as St. Francis Cathedral.

The
cathedral was built by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy from 1869 to 1886
on the site of an older, adobe church. French-born Archbishop Lamy choseRomanesque Revival style that stands out in stark contrast to the surrounding adobe structures.

The truncated towers were originally intended to have 160 foot tall steeples, but the steeples were never completed because of lack of funds. In fact, the archbishop had to rely on funds from at least one Jewish contributor to get the cathedral completed to its present state. The Hebrew inscription over the doors was probably the archbishop's "thank you" to his Jewish benefactor.

Loretto Chapel is located about a block from St. Francis Cathedral. The chapel was built from 1873 to 1878 for the students of Loretto Academy. The chapel is Gothic Revival style. The chapel is known for its spiral staircase. Today, the chapel is a privately-owned museum.

Early May is
an excellent time to visit Sante Fe if you are a fan of lilacs. They
were in full bloom and fragrance during our visit.There was a bush to the right in the photo below in front of San Miguel Church, which is located a few blocks from Loretto Chapel right along the Old Santa Fe Trail.

San Miguel Church is still a functioning Catholic parish. The church was built around 1610 and the original adobe walls still lie within the stucco exterior. The roof was destroyed during the Pueblo Indian rebellion of 1680, but the roof was replaced in 1694 after the Spanish returned to Santa Fe. The present bell tower and the massive stone buttresses were added in 1880.

The photo below shows the interior of the San Miguel Church. There are cutouts in the floor in the front that show the original adobe steps to the altar under the existing wooden floor.

From San Miguel Church we walked back to the car for the drive back to Albuquerque. We really
liked Santa Fe, and one day wasn't nearly enough time there. We knew it
wouldn't be, but it was all the time we had on this trip. We are
definitely planning to return someday.

We spent the next day catching up on laundry and did some grocery shopping. Then the following day, we continued traveling west.

May 17, 2009

Albuquerque, NM Part V: Sandia Peak

Although the Sandia Mountain Range is only about 17 miles long, it dominates the horizon northeast of Albuquerque. The mountains lie within the Cibola National Forest. The highest point is Sandia Crest at 10,678 feet. Sandia means watermelon in Spanish, and it is thought the name may be a reference to the pink color that the mountains take on at sunset.

Sandia Peak Tramway ascends the western face of Sandia Peak to one of the highest points on the mountain. The elevation of the upper terminal is 10,378 feet. The lower terminal of the tramway is located at the northeastern edge of Albuquerque. The photo below shows the lower boarding platform looking up toward the first of only two cable support towers.

The tramway is the world's longest passenger aerial tramway at a total diagonal distance of 14,657 feet (over 2.7 miles), and it has the third longest single span at a length of 7,720 feet from the second tower to the upper terminal.

The tram is powered by a 600 hp electric motor, and there is a 429 cubic inch Ford industrial engine as a backup. It takes approximately 14 minutes to travel each way.

The tramway started service in 1966 and was built by Bell Engineering of Lucerne, Switzerland. The tram cars were replaced in 1986, and new track cables were installed in 1997.

The photo below was taken from the back of the tram car just after we passed the second tower. There is a slight sway as the car passes over the tower.

As with most aerial trams, there are two cars. As one ascends, the other descends. Shortly after passing the second tower, we passed the other car.

The views from the tram are impressive as it passes rugged rocks and spires.

The photo below is Golf Ball Rock.

And the next photo is The Cannon.

The Sandia Mountains are made up primarily of granite, but they are topped by a layer of sedimentary rock. The sedimentary rock, which is mostly limestone, indicates the mountaintop was once under water. The mountains are a fault block range at the eastern edge of the Rio Grande Rift Valley. The mountains were uplifted when the rift was formed. The photo below shows the sedimentary rock at the crest.

Shortly after we got to the top, we watched our car depart for its descent.

As impressive as the views were coming up the mountain, the views at the top were even more spectacular. They say you can see an area of 11,000 square miles.

In the photo above, the darker, greenish line that runs across the picture near the horizon is the Rio Grande River lined by trees and other vegetation as it runs down the rift valley. The next photo is a little different location and also shows the green line that follows the Rio Grande.

On the eastern face of the mountain, which is not as steep and rugged at the western face where the tram is located, is the Sandia Peak Ski Area. The bottom of the ski area is accessible by road, and the top of the chair lift is located just west of the upper tram station.

In addition to the ski area, there are numerous Forest Service hiking trails on Sandia Peak. Paul walked a short distance down one of the trails, but the trail was a little too close to the edge for Margery. She waited at the top and met him when he returned.

We did walk a short nature trail together; and, yes, there is still a little snow left. They had a 19-inch snowfall a few weeks prior. The sun was warm, but the air was a cool 51 degrees.

Along the nature trail, there were plaques describing some of the rocks and plants. We were a little too early for wildflowers, but one interesting thing we saw was a hanging lichen called Old Man's Beard. It is not a parasite, and like Spanish Moss, it obtains moisture and nutrients from the air and only uses the tree for support.

Also at the top of Sandia Peak is High Finance Restaurant. The name scared us a little, but we checked their menu. Although we initially thought the prices were a little high, we were hungry; and the green chili cheeseburger really sounded good. We rationalized the price wasn't all that bad considering it was a half-pound burger and it included fries, so we decided to split one. Man, was it good!

After our shared lunch, we caught a tram back down the mountain. We headed back to the motor home and got ready for our next excursion.

May 15, 2009

Albuquerque, NM Part IV: More Museums

As we said in our last post, there are a lot of museums in Albuquerque, so we still have a couple more to tell you about. Undoubtedly, our favorite museum in Albuquerque was the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. Having lived through the Cold War, we found the information to be very fascinating.

The museum was established in 1969 and is chartered by Congress. The
museum used to be located in Albuquerque on Kirtland Air Force Base,
but it was closed on Sept. 11, 2001 because of security concerns on the
air base. The museum took up temporary residence at a rented facility
in Old Town Albuquerque in 2002. In March of this year, the museum
reopened in a brand new building located on a strip of land just off Kirtland Air Force Base. The recently reopened museum is shown in
the photo below.

The
Manhattan Project was the program in the United States to develop an
atomic bomb during World War II. Germany had a similar program, and in
1941, they were ahead of the United States. However, their project was
doomed to failure due to lack of resources later in the war and due to
Hitler's tendency to focus on quick victories instead of long-term
gains.

The
Atomic Age began with the first successful detonation of an atomic bomb
on July 16, 1945, at a test site about 150 miles south of Albuquerque.

On
Aug. 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
The bomb was dropped by a B-29 Superfortress named the Enola Gay.

Three
days later, another B-29 by the name of Bockscar dropped a second
atomic bomb on Nagasaki. We saw the plane Bockscar in 2008 when we
visited the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH.

Paul is standing by the nose wheel of a B-29 similar to the Enola Gay and Bockscar on display outside the Nuclear Museum.

There was a section of the museum that talked about the post-war, nuclear arms build-up and the Cold War. There were some scale models of some of the missiles that were designed to deliver nuclear warheads, a simulated fallout shelter, and there were some good examples of Cold War propaganda.

The
museum also explained some of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and
radiation. One of the first uses of radiation was X-rays, which were
known in the late 1800s. Scientists discovered a form of radiation
could be produced by bombarding a metal target with electrons. It was
soon discovered that, even though this radiation was invisible, it
could be used to see through things like human flesh. Bones, which are
denser, become visible. (Did you ever use an the machine at the shoe store when you were a child so that your mom and the salesman could see your feet?) The photo below shows examples of an early
electron generator (right) and an X-ray/fluoroscope machine.

Magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) is a later medical tool derived from radiation.
Strong magnetic fields cause hydrogen atoms (present in the water
contained in every cell of the body) to vibrate and give off electronic
signals, which are detected and converted to images by computers.

Another
peaceful use for nuclear energy is power generation. Arco, ID was the
first town in the U. S. to be lit by nuclear power generated at the
nearby Idaho National Laboratory.

Another
use for nuclear power is for ship propulsion. Quite a few submarines
and aircraft carriers of the U. S. Navy have safely been using nuclear reactors to generate steam to drive the ships for decades. The
next photo shows a scale model of the N. S. Savannah, which is
the first nuclear powered passenger/cargo ship. Her maiden voyage was
in 1962. She was taken out of service in 1970 and her nuclear fuel was
permanently removed two years later.

We found the the last museum we're going to tell you about by accident. It should be no surprise the story about the museum begins with food.

One afternoon, we stopped for a late lunch at Golden Crown Panaderia. This bakery was featured on the Food Network program "Food Finds" back in 2004. Golden Crown features biscochitos (crispy Mexican cookies), green chili bread, and pizza.

When we walked in, they gave us each a complimentary cappuccino-flavored biscochito
to munch on while we decided what we wanted. We ordered a small Golden
Crown combination pizza with sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, black
olives, and onions. Even though it was supposed to be small, there was
plenty there for both of us. It was one of the best pizzas we've had.

After
we finished our pizza, we went back inside and picked up a loaf of
green chili bread and a couple of empinadas (fruit-filled fry pies) to
take home with us.

When
we left Golden Crown to head back to the motor home, we happened to
pass a life-size sculpture representing early Spanish settlers. The
sculpture was so large and impressive, we parked on a side street and
went over to check it out.

The sculpture was titled La Journada (the journey) and depicts Juan de Onate leading settlers as they passed through the area on their way from Chihuahua, Mexico, to settle in what now the Santa Fe area.

The sculpture is on the grounds of the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History.
Although it was late in the day and we decided not to go into the
museum, we enjoyed walking around their outdoor sculpture display. There were
many sculptures there, and we'll show you a few of our favorites.

There was a group of sculptures that depicted a park-like setting. That's Margery reading over the gentleman's shoulder.

We both really liked the next sculpture titled Les Bears.

And finally, there was this rugged cowboy and his horse.

After
the sculpture garden, we went back to the motor home. Later on, we
enjoyed our empanadas for dessert and some of the green chili bread for
a snack.

There's still more to do in and around Albuquerque, so look for our next post.